Welcome to Vermont

Vermont is the New England postcard come to life. Every autumn the Green Mountains blaze red, orange, and gold, which is why it is the number-one foliage destination in the region — and all those sugar maples do double duty, because Vermont makes almost half of the maple syrup in the whole country. Back roads wind past covered bridges, red barns, and sugar shacks selling maple creemees, a soft serve you will dream about later. A few surprises: Vermont was its own independent country for 14 years before it joined the union, its capital Montpelier is the smallest in the nation, and the state banned billboards to keep the views clean. Oh, and Ben and Jerry's was born here, gas-station roots and all. Below you will find every Vermont map, trip, guide, and hidden gem we have.

• Nickname: The Green Mountain State
• State flavor: Maple
• State tree: Sugar maple
• State animal: Morgan horse
• State bird: Hermit thrush
• State flower: Red clover